Dave Brubeck Dead: Jazz Legend Dies Days Aged 91

The revered musician and bandleader passed away on Wednesday at a Norwalk hospital in Connecticut.

He died of heart failure.

The pianist became a crossover jazz great thanks to his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and hits like 'Take Five' and 'Blue Rondo a la Turk'.

But he was also a civil rights hero, becoming one of the first leading white acts to perform at black jazz clubs throughout the American South in the 1950s.

Flowers will be placed on Brubeck's Hollywood Walk of Fame star to mark his passing.

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FILE - This Dec. 6, 2005 file photo shows jazz pianist Dave Brubeck at his piano as he celebrates his 85th birthday on stage at London's Barbican Hall after a performance with the London Symphony Orchestra. Brubeck, a pioneering jazz composer and pianist died Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 of heart failure, after being stricken while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son. He would have turned 92 on Thursday. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, file)

FILE - Nov. 7, 2002 file photo shows U.S. jazz legend Dave Brubeck performing on the Mustermesse stage at the AVO Session in Basel, Switzerland. Brubeck, a pioneering jazz composer and pianist died Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 of heart failure, after being stricken while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son. He would have turned 92 on Thursday. (AP Photo/Keystone, Markus Stuecklin, file)

FILE - This 1956 file photo shows American composer, pianist and jazz musician Dave Brubeck. Brubeck, a pioneering jazz composer and pianist died Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 of heart failure, after being stricken while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son. He would have turned 92 on Thursday. (AP Photo, file)

FILE - This Aug. 23, 2981 file photo shows jazz pianist Dave Brubeck at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I. Brubeck, a pioneering jazz composer and pianist died Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 of heart failure, after being stricken while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son. He would have turned 92 on Thursday. (AP Photo/Paul Mello, file)

FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2009 file photo, Kennedy Center honoree Dave Brubeck stands for the National Anthem at the Kennedy Center Honors gala in Washington. Brubeck, a pioneering jazz composer and pianist died Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 of heart failure, after being stricken while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son. He would have turned 92 on Thursday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2010 file photo, Dave Brubeck plays at the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I. Brubeck is among the featured artists scheduled to return to the festival on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin, File)

WASHINGTON - MAY 16: Dave Brubeck receives a honorary doctorate in Music during the 2010 George Washington University commencement at the National Mall on May 16, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 5: 2009 Kennedy Center honorees (L-R) Front Row; Grace Bumbry and Dave Brubeck, Back Row; Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen and Mel Brooks pose for the formal group photo following the Artist's Dinner at the United States Department of State on December 5, 2009 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 06: Dave Brubeck poses for photos on the red carpet before the 32nd Kennedy Center Honors at Kennedy Center Hall of States on December 6, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 19: Dave Brubeck and Wynton Marsalis perform during 'A Celebration of America' by Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Rockefeller Foundation at The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts January 19, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Jazz at Lincoln Center)

NUREMBERG, Germany: 84-year-old US jazz legend Dave Brubeck performs along with his Dave Brubeck Quartet, 16 November 2005 at the Schauspielhaus theater in the southern city of Nuremberg, where he served as a GI during WWII. Nuremberg began a week of commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the groundbreaking trials of top Nazis at the end of World War II. AFP PHOTO DDP/TIMM SCHAMBERGER GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read TIMM SCHAMBERGER/AFP/Getty Images)

SACRAMENTO, CA - DECEMBER 15: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Jazz musician Dave Brubeck plays a keyboard at his induction with 12 other honorees into the 2008 California Hall of Fame at The California Museum on December 15, 2008 in Sacramento, California. On display at the Museum until late 2009 are items from the various inductees such as Jane Fonda's two Oscars and cameras belonging to Dorothea Lange. (Photo by The California Museum via Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - 1952: Pianist Dave Brubeck at the piano, ca. 1952. (Photo by Martha Holmes/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - JULY 21: Musician Dave Brubek performs at the Apple Store Soho on July 21, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)